Job 28-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(A)
3 Miners put[a] an end to darkness
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.(B)
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,[b]
and its dust contains gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 “They put their hand to the flinty rock
and overturn mountains by the roots.(C)
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious thing.
11 The sources of the rivers they probe;[c]
hidden things they bring to light.
12 “But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?(D)
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,[d]
and it is not found in the land of the living.(E)
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.[e]
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.(F)
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.(G)
19 The chrysolite of Cush cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.(H)
20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?(I)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’(J)
23 “God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.(K)
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.(L)
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned out the waters by measure,(M)
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,(N)
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it and searched it out.
28 And he said to humankind,
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”(O)
Job Finishes His Defense
29 Job again took up his discourse and said:(P)
2 “O that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,(Q)
3 when his lamp shone over my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,(R)
4 when I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon my tent,(S)
5 when the Almighty[f] was still with me,
when my children were around me,
6 when my steps were washed with milk
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!(T)
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I took my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose up and stood;
9 the nobles refrained from talking
and laid their hands on their mouths;(U)
10 the voices of princes were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.(V)
11 When the ear heard, it commended me,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I delivered the poor who cried
and the orphan who had no helper.(W)
13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.(X)
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.(Y)
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I championed the cause of the stranger.(Z)
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made them drop their prey from their teeth.(AA)
18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;[g](AB)
19 my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches;(AC)
20 my glory was fresh with me
and my bow ever new in my hand.’(AD)
21 “They listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.(AE)
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them like dew.[h](AF)
23 They waited for me as for the rain;
they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and the light of my countenance they did not extinguish.[i]
25 I chose what they should do and sat as chief,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.(AG)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.